AFFECTIVE AMBIVALENCE AND MORAL COMPLEXITY IN STEPHEN KING’S THE GREEN MILE: A COGNITIVE-NARRATOLOGICAL APPROACH

Аннотация

This article examines affective ambivalence and moral complexity in Stephen King’s The Green Mile through a cognitive-narratological approach. It explores how narrative perspective, characterization, and emotional contrasts influence readers’ interpretations of justice, suffering, and responsibility. Particular attention is devoted to John Coffey’s ambiguous social position, Paul Edgecombe’s retrospective narration, and the tension between institutional authority and individual morality. Drawing on affective narratology, narrative theory, and ethical criticism, the study demonstrates how conflicting emotional responses complicate conventional distinctions between innocence and guilt. It argues that emotional ambivalence encourages readers to reconsider moral judgments and engage critically with the ethical implications of narrative events